Tom Hiddleston Explains Loki's Absence In The Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Every Joss Whedon fan knows that the writer-director is a genial guy who seems to be having more fun than many other Hollywood filmmakers. But that doesn’t mean he’s always joking, such as when he disappointed Loki fans everywhere by announcing Tom Hiddleston wouldn’t be in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which didn’t even have that title back then. Some may have thought he could have been pulling wool over everyone’s eyes, like J.J. Abrams did with the Star Trek Into Darkness villain, but Hiddleston confirmed this somewhat disappointing news with Entertainment Weekly. We’re assuming he wasn’t wearing his horned helmet while holding an Age of Ultron script in his hands.

After commanding a Hulk’s smash worth of cheers and joy-filled jeers in last year’s The Avengers, the otherworldly villain’s presence just isn’t needed in yet another Marvel film. "Here’s the thing," Hiddleston explained. "I don’t think there’s anything else Loki could contribute to The Avengers, narratively. Joss gave me so many wonderful things to do in that first film that we’d only be trying to repeat ourselves, and probably less well in the second one." Do you hear that, Hollywood? Repeatedly rehashing successful films isn’t the only way to go about doing things. (I just saw a story about the fifth Paranormal Activity movie, so pardon my mini-soapbox.)

And don’t go assuming Hiddleston is sore about it; he completely understands. "When I think of all the things I loved as a child, for example, Hans Gruber wasn’t in Die Hard 2…I think keeping it fresh and new is good for The Avengers even though it’s a shame for me."

While films like Iron Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 were definitely lacking due to the amount of villains being showcased, Whedon has his work cut out for him just giving his actual heroes their due screentime. "And let’s face it," Hiddleston said, "there’s seven or eight of them as it is, and Joss is thinking about adding two more, so the screen’s gonna be a busy place." There’s something to be said about a villain’s recognition though, especially when Ultron is something of a mystery to the non-comic-reading crowd (you can click here for a brief primer on what to expect). Luckily, we still haven’t seen the last of Loki.

He’ll of course be returning to the role for Thor: The Dark World hits theaters on November 8. "Oh, I’ve got plenty to do in Thor, believe me," he says. "It’s a new iteration of the character. It’s a new development. Another trick, another poker game for the god of mischief. And he plays it well." I expect a bunch of cackling happened just then.

Check out the Hiddleston-light trailer for Thor: The Dark World below.